Lehigh Valley 2-8-0 "Consolidation" Type Locomotives

Class Consolidation (Locobase 2556)

This was the engine that gave its name to the wheel arrangement used for more locomotives than any other type. It was originally proposed by the LV's master mechanic Alexander Mitchell for the Mahanoy division and built by Baldwin after some initial reluctance. (see http://course.wilkes.edu/Delano/history/ch6-1, a history of the LV's Delano shops, seen on the web in December 2002, for an account of the jawboning Mitchell applied to persuade Baldwin. His clincher was that the Grant Works in Paterson might be able to handle the work.)

Mitchell's reasoning for adopting a 2-8-0 layout was to ease wear and tear on the track while more effectively distributing weight than an 0-8-0 could manage. Once Baldwin accepted the contract, Mitchell and Baldwin's William P. Henszey worked out the final details. Final cost was $19,000 plus 5% war tax. (In 1878, a Baldwin quote for a Consolidation was $9,700 -- obviously a deflation had hit the market.)

Among its design features were the relatively wide anthracite-burning grate with water bars, a variable exhaust, poppet throttle valve, water injector, and a combustion chamber. [Bruce (1950) notes that combustion chambers were seldom used until butt-welding techniques were perfected in the 1920s.]

The engine, delivered in August 1866, was a big success managing loads up 2.5% grades equal to the 0-8-0s (100 empty coal cars totalling 340 trailing tons), but with less chance of derailment or damage to the tracks and at a higher speed. White (1968) says that little is known about Consolidation's service history except that she ran 377,000 miles before her retirement in 1886.

Class M-30 (Locobase 5338)

Data from table in AERJ July 1903. This was a huge Camelback Consolidation. Very few boilers tried to cram more than 500 firetubes in their cross-section, and mustering over 4,000 sq ft of evaporative heating surface was also unusual in a 2-8-0.

The tables in July 1903 and June 1906 are confusing because they show slightly different boilers, but refer to the same original article -- December 1898, p. 395 -- to which Locobase will have to turn to resolve this ambiguity.

Class M-35 (Locobase 7304)

Data from LV 3 -1934 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

102 camelback Consolidations comprised this large class that was originally delivered as Vauclain compounds in 1899 to 1902. Only three years later they were converted to simple expansion and, beginning in 1914, fitted with superheaters and piston valves.

As one might guess of one of the most numerous classes on the LV, retirements covered a long period. The first went in 1916 (possibly an accident victim?) and the last held out until 1951.

Class M-36 (Locobase 7305)

Data from LV 3 -1934 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Five years after Baldwin delivered its big batch of camelback Consolidations (Locobase 7304), Alco followed with 20 more simple-expansion engines in 1907 with the same-size grate but a bigger boiler. Beginning in 1916, some were fitted with superheaters and piston valves.

Retirements of this class began in 1928 and were completed 17 years later in 1945.

Class M-37 (Locobase 5375)

Data from table in AERJ June 1906. This was a huge Camelback Consolidation, very similar to the M-35s (Locobase 7304), but with lower drivers.

Class Mogul (Locobase 9678)

Data from Emory Edwards, Modern American Locomotive Engines, (Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird & Co, 1883), pp. 120, 122. Baldwin works #3149-3150.

With the success of the original Consolidation assured (Locobase 2556), the Lehigh Valley bought a few more of the same with slightly larger dimensions. This pair - named Mogul and Tycoon -- had slightly less heating surface area but more tubes.

They were rebuilt in 1882 and disposed of by 1905.

Specifications
Class	Consolidation	M-30	M-35	M-36	M-37	Mogul
Locobase ID	2556	5338	7304	7305	5375	9678
Railroad	Lehigh Valley	Lehigh Valley	Lehigh Valley	Lehigh Valley	Lehigh Valley	Lehigh Valley
Whyte	2-8-0	2-8-0	2-8-0	2-8-0	2-8-0	2-8-0
Road Numbers	93	680-684	700-769, 780-812	813-832	1301-1315	171-172
Gauge	Std	Std	Std	Std	Std	Std
Builder	M W Baldwin & Co	Burnham, Williams & Co	Burnham, Williams & Co	Alco-Schenectady	Burnham, Williams & Co	Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co
Year	1866	1896	1914	1916	1898	1871
Valve Gear	Stephenson	Stephenson	Walschaert	Walschaert	Stephenson	Stephenson
	Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase		15'	16.50'	16.50'	15'
Engine Wheelbase		23.83'	25.42'	25.42'	23.83'
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheebase		0.63	0.65	0.65	0.63
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender)		55.04'	57.06'	57.06'	57.85'
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle)	24200 lbs		47330 lbs	48600 lbs
Weight on Drivers	75160 lbs	202232 lbs	183810 lbs	187900 lbs	205232 lbs	80000 lbs
Engine Weight	85720 lbs	225082 lbs	211420 lbs	214900 lbs	228082 lbs	100000 lbs
Tender Light Weight		121000 lbs	155200 lbs	155200 lbs	148000 lbs
Total Engine and Tender Weight	0	346082 lbs	366620 lbs	370100 lbs	376082 lbs	0
Tender Water Capacity	2000 gals		8000 gals	8000 gals	7500 gals	2000 gals
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal)			12 tons	12 tons	12 tons	tons
Minimum weight per yard of rail on which locomotive could run	31.32 lb rail	84.26 lb rail	76.59 lb rail	78.29 lb rail	85.51 lb rail	33.33 lb rail
	Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter	48"	55"	62.50"	62.50"	55.50"	50.80"
Boiler Pressure	130 psi	200 psi	205 psi	205 psi	200 psi	130 psi
Cylinders (dia x stroke)	20" x 24"	18" x 30"	21" x 30"	23" x 30"	18" x 30"	20" x 24"
Tractive Effort	22100 lbs	42517 lbs	36885 lbs	44246 lbs	42134 lbs	20882 lbs
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort)	3.40	4.76	4.98	4.25	4.87	3.83
	Heating Ability
Firebox Area		215 sq. ft	175.60 sq. ft	202 sq. ft	193 sq. ft	112 sq. ft
Grate Area	25.50 sq. ft	90 sq. ft	76 sq. ft	76 sq. ft	90 sq. ft	24 sq. ft
Evaporative Heating Surface	1281	4106	2259	2444	4145	1244
Superheating Surface			425	496
Combined Heating Surface	1281	4106	2684	2940	4145	1244
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume	146.79	464.70	187.84	169.41	469.12	142.55
	Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation	3315	18000	15580	15580	18000	3120
Same as above plus superheater percentage	3315	18000	18047.03	18208.46	18000	3120
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area	0	43000	41698.13	48396.18	38600	14560
Power L1	0	4442.64	12361.77	11720.47	4421.60	2275.33
Power MT	0	193.72	593.07	550.06	189.99	250.81